Fun and fear returns to Alderford for Halloween spooktacular

It's been a bumper year for the family-run Alderford Lake. Mere months ago, the venue hosted a bigger-than-ever summer festival, welcoming stars including McFly and Sam Ryder.

Now, having just about recovered from AlderFest, the team have decked the lake out for the third incarnation of their Halloween spooktacular.

This year will see the return of the haunting Nightmare Island. An attraction not for the faint-hearted, the immersive horror experience promises to strike fear into even the most seasoned of fright fans.

Brave guests will be transported through their worst nightmares to a terrifying prison, where high-risk inmates will thwart attempts to escape.

Marketing manager, Zoe Watson, said this year promises to be even more fear-filled than last.

She said: "We were a little apprehensive last year, we did wonder if it was going to be too scary, but the feedback was incredible. We had lots of people who do scary experiences all the time travel up to visit us.

"For them to rate it, it really put us up there with the big names. I think this one is going to be even scarier than last, we're really excited about it."

For the slightly younger, or those not-so-brave, the first of two new events will see a second maze on Spooky Island, set to be filled with unexpected twists and turns speckled with slightly smaller frights.

And for the teeny witches and wizards among us, the return of Witchcraft Woods will provide a magical crafting workshop for those under 10.

After a bumper class in wizardry, students will embark on an adventure of fun and games and battle each other to become the best in their class.

This year will also see the addition of a drive-in cinema, where visitors can drive up and enjoy a spooky flick on the big screen, with food and drink served directly to cars.

Screenings of Hocus Pocus, Hotel Transylvania and The Addams Family are available for family viewing, while Scream, Annabelle and Texas Chainsaw Massacre will get older viewers into the spooky season.

Zoe added: "We wanted to cater for every member of the family, so we're excited to bring in the two new events. It's all hands on deck at the moment to make it the best one ever."

The jam-packed schedule will begin on Saturday, October 21, with children's events running throughout half term.

For more information, and for booking, visit: alderford.com